The US reportedly committed to pulling out of Afghanistan after peace talks with the Taliban

US Marines with Task Force Southwest (TFSW) observe their surroundings while at a security post for an advising mission with 1st Brigade, Afghan National Army (ANA) 215th Corps as they conduct Operation Maiwand 12 at Camp Shorserack, Afghanistan, March 13, 2018.

source

US Marine Corps/Sgt. Conner Robbins

The US has reportedly committed to pulling its forces,
as well as NATO forces, out of Afghanistan in a serious bid to
stop the 17-year war that's claimed tens of thousands of lives
and hundreds of billions of US tax dollars.

Citing "significant progress" in peace talks with the
Taliban, the hardline Islamist group that harbored Osama Bin
Laden and became the US's first target after the September 11,
2001 attacks, a US official told Reuters the US was working on
a ceasefire and the timing of a pull out.

The White House said on Monday its priority was ending
the war in Afghanistan.

The US has struggled to end the war against scattered
pockets of militants across Afghanistan for 17 years, and
President Donald Trump campaigned on ending these engagements.

Peace talks in Qatar, now lasting over a week, have
produced results that Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan
called "encouraging," though he maintains the US currently has
no plans for a complete withdrawal.

The US has committed to pulling its forces, as well as NATO
forces, out of Afghanistan in a serious bid to stop the
17-year-long war that's claimed tens of thousands of lives and
hundreds of billions of US tax dollars.

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Citing "significant progress" in peace talks with the Taliban,
the hardline Islamist group that harbored Osama Bin Laden and
became the US's first target after the September 11, 2001
attacks, a US official told Reuters the US was working on a
ceasefire and the timing of a pull out.

"Of course we don't seek a permanent military presence in
Afghanistan," the official told Reuters on the same day Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani gave a televised address saying: "No
Afghans want foreign forces in their country for the long
term."

"Our priority is to end the war in Afghanistan and ensure
there is never a base for terrorism in Afghanistan," Press
Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a press briefing on
Monday.

"Our goal is to help bring peace in Afghanistan and we would like
a future partnership, newly defined with a post-peace
government," the official said. "We would like to leave a good
legacy."

President Donald Trump reportedly pushed for a troop withdrawal
in Afghanistan at the same time he announced a troop pull out
from Syria, which sparked widespread controversy, criticism, and
the resignation of his defense secretary and top official in
charge of fighting ISIS.

The US and NATO have fought in Afghanistan since 2001, when they
toppled the ruling government that had harbored the Taliban and
Al Qaeda.

The US and NATO have lost about 3,500 troops in the battle that's
killed tens of thousands of Afghans and nearly 10,000 Afghan
security forces fighters a year since 2014.

caption

The body of a militant fighter, wearing a military uniform, lies inside the Interior Ministry building after a deadly attack, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Afghan officials said a suicide bomber struck outside the ministry, allowing gunmen to pass through an outer gate where they traded fire with security forces, who eventually killed the attackers. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

source

Associated Press

The Pentagon currently spends about $45 billion a year on the
Afghanistan war while other parts of the government contribute
additional money to secure the country, build infrastructure, and
fund essential programs as the government struggles to control
all of its territory.

Trump campaigned explicitly against the war in Afghanistan,
calling it a big mistake that left US soldiers fighting without
purpose.

The Taliban recently agreed to a landmark concession, saying it
would oppose "any attempts by militant groups to use
Afghanistan to stage terrorist attacks abroad," according to the Wall Street
Journal.

Talks in Qatar, now lasting over a week, have produced
results that Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan called
"encouraging."

Afghanistan, sometimes called the "graveyard of empires"
for its historic ability to resist outside rule from Alexander
the Great, t0 Britain, to the Soviets, has proven a stalemate for
the US, which has failed to lock down the entire country from
Islamist control.